Portland RiverFest

RFP: Phase II Event Coordinator

RiverFest is a new event slated for 10 days in late August and early September. Meant to be a collection of new and existing events sharing the Willamette River's waters and shoreline, a diverse set of individuals, organizations, public and private companies, and local and regional government agencies have come together to create the event's vision. A small group of stakeholders makes up the steering committee guiding the festival's development.

Riverfest will consist of pre-existing events that have occurred in previous years, as well as new events occurring for the first time. The previous events will be produced largely independently by their sponsors, with a “branding” tie to Riverfest. The new events will be produced and managed by the Riverfest organizers and event coordinator. A preliminary schedule of events is attached seems like this would give them a better idea of what they’d be working with… .

We request proposals from all interested parties in coordinating the 10-day festival. It is expected that the Event Coordinator will take ownership of this project from beginning to end, with potential for yearly renewal. The steering committee will provide decision-making, ideas, and unbridled enthusiasm but does not expect (or have the ability) to be involved in the day-to-day management of the project. However, it is expected that steering committee members or other supporters will be able to provide or arrange for a number of products or services identified by the coordinator.

An estimated time commitment of 40 hours/week for the first two weeks and last four weeks, and 20 hours/week for the intervening weeks, should be expected. Your proposal should include a requested salary, which should be project-based (not hourly), and should describe which of the following tasks you are prepared to implement yourself and which will be outsourced. Outsourced tasks should be accompanied by an estimate of cost.

If your proposal is accepted for further review, you will be asked to attend a short interview on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 2:30pm. A decision will be made that day and, if hired, you will be heartily congratulated and asked to begin immediately.

Your tasks:

Communications

- maintain email lists for organizers and the public using existing distribution list software

- set meeting schedules, distribute agendas at least two days in advance, and distribute notes no later than 3 working days following the meeting

- maintain contact list (partners, funders, organizers, government entities, etc)

- distribute monthly email newsletter to "news" list

Personnel

- manage volunteers: identify where, when, and how many, and recruit maybe there’s an overall, high-level volunteer coordination function for the entire event, but I think this overstates the need, in that Dragonboats, Portland Paddle, etc. will be responsible for getting volunteers for their own event, right? [Rick B.]

- manage RiverFest volunteers (not individual event volunteers) during festival

- manage "core" and "helm" committees (different groups of organizers): set meetings, assign tasks, verify tasks have been done

- manage subcommittees (fundraising, educational outreach, parade, etc): assure each has a leader, is meeting and on-schedule, and reports back to main group.

- community outreach for skills and resources

Marketing/Media

- develop marketing plan with timeline, benchmarks, and budget

- manage production of collateral: event flier, brochure, other printed materials (the event coordinator is primarily responsible for content; design may be assigned to other cooperators or outsourced)

- develop and maintain (at least once per week) website [portlandriverfest.org]

- develop a media/publicity strategy: issue regular press releases to local and regional media; work with media rep’s; invite media to festival; coordinate inclusion in print calendars, inserts, etc; maintain media contact list

Logistics

- manage production of overall digital map of all venues and activities

- develop festival schedule and distribute

- develop and maintain project timeline

- work with individual event organizers (triathlon, dragon boats, etc) to promote cohesion, sharing, and reuse (infrastructure, marketing, schedules, equipment, personnel, etc)

- identify and obtain all necessary permits (Parks, Coast Guard, Noise, OLCC, food, etc) for all venues Again, the permitting for the pre-existing events would be largely self-contained, leaving only the permits for new Riverfest events? [Rick B.]

- be present at, and responsive to, all events during festival

- implement communication network during festival

- identify and coordinate required infrastructure (tents, port-o-loos, staging, etc)

- contract vendors to provide required infrastructure

- develop event to be environmentally responsible

Finances

- keep detailed budget, tracking costs and revenue

- notify steering committee when projections are significantly off

- develop fundraising plan with timeline and benchmarks

Demeanor

- possess a working sense of humor

- enjoy the work you are doing (not all the time, but 90%)

- enjoy working with diverse segments of the community and promoting inclusion

- like kids, to a point

- place personal importance on sustainability (environmental and social)

- be comfortable taking a STRONG leadership role

Deliverables

1. Overall project timeline (March 17)

2. fundraising plan (March 31)

3. marketing plan (April 15)

4. final event schedule (due May 1)

5. media strategy (June 1)

6. final partner list (due Jun 1)

7. final budget (due Sep 30)

8. final contact list (due Sep 30)

9. evaluation of event and suggestions for future (due Sep 30)